Giant Rat Fossil Discovered

Archaeologists have unearthed the largest species of rat ever discovered, which lived on East Timor until about 1,000 to 2,000 years ago.

The new species was three times heavier — about six kilograms (13 pounds) — than the biggest rats known to exist today, which are found in the tropical forests of the Philippines and New Guinea.

“Rodents make up 40 percent of mammalian diversity worldwide and are a key element of ecosystems, important for processes like soil maintenance and seed dispersal,” Ken Aplin, an archaeologist with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), said in a press release.

“Maintaining biodiversity among rats is just as important as protecting whales or birds,” he said.